Has to be done.... DOWNING FALL

What goes around... (as in spin)...

Gordon Brown's Downfall - The Prequel

Hitler's BNP membership gets leaked

Gordon Brown saves the World at PMQs 10th December 2008

The BBC and Hitler are finished

Angry Draper

The Downing Street hand-shake

Downfall McBride

The McBride Downfall: The Sequel

Economy Question Time - The Elephant in the Room

Gordon Brown - the dance of the comedian

Gordon Brown - an edited homage

Jon Stewart to Jacqui Smith: What's with the list?

downfall - european election edition

Gainspotting

BEAN THERE, SEEN THAT, MADE THE T-SHIRT

A poster on a blog made a suggestion to which I had to reply:

Perhaps we should all work for the Government?

Or quangos, or any other of the myriad non-income generating entities that nonetheless do require money, from somewhere, to function.

The trouble with a bean-counting, bean-assessing, bean-managing and bean-taxing economy, overseen by a beano-philic national media, is that there is a slight problem with an ever-reducing number of folk actually making beans being burdened by all of the above.

They collapse, and we all starve. Even the parasites.

QUOTE OF THE DAY - Now I know why it is called "The Silly Season'

Michael Jackson's brain returned to family

QUOTE OF THE DAY - Ouch

Greek woman 'sets fire' to Briton's genitals

She will face a magistrate today to see whether the case will go to trial on charges of causing bodily injuries and of endangering private property.

It's Friday and, well, I found it funny. Even if I doubt the victim did

Too much son, not enough Illumiere

Something interesting has happened in the BBC blogosphere.

A fixture has gone on hols (like MPs, many in the state broadcaster seem to get the same as my kids), and the substitute is scoring well.

It has been noticed.

However, I have been minded to offer a cautionary comment to those who see her contribution as an improvement, and one to be retained.

However.... for some reason (I surmise below), the number of posts is currently significantly down.

This may be a problem. The market rate talents of the boxtickocracies need measures to justify their worth, and hence, regardless of the value of meeting the theoretical main remit (quality journalism) one tends to find that controversy pays better and hence gets hired and protected. Think Polly T in the Grauniad (at the BBC, on occasion). Or, for 'balance', the new Telegraph commentariat regime, where some new bloggers boast of being hired just to provoke. Any old nonsense will do as long as you can crank up a 500+ thread, even if it is folk going 'Huh?'.. or worse.

As many have already mentioned, I am settling in to savour more factual, objective reporting, with links and without narratives being enhanced or events being interpreted thanks to unique access and bestowed briefings resulting in little more than unsubstantiated gossip and spin.

Which may well mean I don't need to comment as the topic is served. Executives please take note. Numbers don't always mean quality. Noise need not accompany light for full sensory illumination.

Addendum

The author has penned another blog - Open primaries for all? - and I was struck by her use of 'left-wing' to describe a publication. I have found this happens rarely, and was moved to comment:

As, with many 'guest' commentators invited in at the drop of a producer's iPhone, it is a rare instance where I have seen a publication that is not 'right wing' or 'conservative' labelled as anything at all, I was wondering if there was, anywhere, an accepted (hah!), objective list/chart/guide where the political positionings of various reference sources was listed. I am not a big 'wing/ist/zi' designation fan.

If not, and to any degree of standardisation, I am in a variety of minds as to whether these appellations should be used. But for once I don't err on shades of grey. I think it should be one or t'other. The 'all' option is, inevitably, open to subjectivity. While 'nothing' remains, in the care of the reader's own eyes and independent thought, still mostly objective.

I am erring on the latter. That said, the provenance of a source is still often very pertinent to the take it/they provide, and of course there are also the numbers and extremity of views held that remain the gift of those who book individuals or quote stories.

Tricky. But as I suspect my preference will be in the minority, and as 'all' will... should be revealed, it can be refreshing to see the possible context of a quoted source and why some who use them may prefer that environment. So long as it is applied equally from all directions.

One also looks forward to certain 'research', by various 'think tanks', etc being framed by affiliations that might colour (blue, red, green...) their findings, being too often merely a means to introduce a spurious degree of separation from what are too often partisan opinions. And without the time or means to check more deeply, if taken at face value for some in the audience, this can stray into misrepresentation.

Sad, but not unexpected

Another day, another nail...

34. At 08:52am on 06 Aug 2009, you wrote:
This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.

3. At 8:52 am on 6 Aug 2009, JunkkMale wrote:
24. At 8:48pm on 05 Aug 2009, Rustigjongens wrote:

It is to be hoped if, on current evidence not expected, that the major media, and our 'government', might investigate and comment on the accuracy, and implications of the brief letter from Carol Rigby in today's Telegraph:

SIR – If the troops in Afghanistan have all the kit they need, why have I just received a letter from my son stating that he is looking at someone with the soles of his boots falling off and has been told they will not be replaced? Furthermore, their body armour is being held together with tape and the malaria tablets have run out.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/letters/5978848/Assisted-suicide-denies-the-value-of-life-and-is-an-affront-to-Western-humanism.html

When they all return from school hols, after the 'silly season' passes and things get back to super 'normal' for those more privileged (Copyright: Alan 'the gift that keeps on giving' Yentob: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/5979697/Alan-Yentob-defends-BBC-over-Arlene-Phillips-ageism-claims.html ), that is.

ps: Having posted on another site, a 'defender' leapt in, missing the first line and pointed out he actually said 'ordinary folk' in the penultimate para. Indeed he did. Like that helped their case. LOL.

QUOTE OF THE DAY Defensive actions

From the mouths of Beebs. Or... the gifts that keep on giving...

Alan Yentob defends BBC over Arlene Phillips ageism claims

You have to hand it to the market rate talents, who 'we' might lose were they not paid massive amounts to be retained from going to... er... ITV?

'...normal people found it "difficult to understand" why they needed thousands of pounds for dinners and expensive gifts.'

Now, you might see where I am going here, but does this suggest that Mr. Yentob seem to be saying that they are 'not normal', or is it ab...